Ralf Rangnick was born on the 27th of April, 1963. He is a German football manager and former player currently employed by Red Bull Salzburg as director of sports. It has been reported that during his playing days, he would have left Werder Bremen for either Borussia Dortmund or Schalke 04, but he turned both offers down. He has described himself as a “Risse-Typ” (or Risser for short), which means he can never be satisfied with anything.
He started his managerial career at the age of only 29, becoming player-manager of Tennis Borussia Berlin in 1994. He took them to promotion in his first season with the side. He spent seven seasons with them before moving to VfB Stuttgart, where he won two DFB-Pokals (German Cups) and one UEFA Intertoto Cup, which later allowed him to move up with the team into the Bundesliga.
Rangnick has always been known for playing offensive football, and there are examples of his teams scoring 100 goals in a season. However, he has always been unhappy about conceding goals, so he has created many tactical variants to stop opponents. He can be described as “father” to the RalfBall movement, which Red Bull Salzburg is now implementing, RB Leipzig, FC Red Bull Salzburg, and New York Red Bulls.
Ralf Rangnick’s career in full:
1994–1997 Tennis Borussia Berlin Player Manager 1997–1999 VfB Stuttgart Reserves 1999–2002 VfB Stuttgart Technical Director 2002–2004 Hannover 96 Technical Director 2004–2005 Schalke 04 Technical Director 2005–2009 Hoffenheim Head Coach 2008–2009 FC Ingolstadt 04 Assistant Manager 2009–2011 Schalke 04 Sporting Director 2011–2013 Red Bull Salzburg Sporting Director 2013- RB Leipzig Sporting Director 2014- New York Red Bulls Sporting Director.
His other achievements are: broke the record of points collected in the 2. Bundesliga (the second division) with Hoffenheim in 2008–09 collected 204 points, a new record breaking the previous best of 202 collected by Karlsruhe in 1994–95.
Ralf Rangnick can build teams where there are no stars, but everyone can take responsibility. His teams have never been relegated from any league while being managed by him.
When the German national team was struggling, Rangnick took a bold decision and put together a U21 side with players who had not made it into Germany’s Euro 2008 squad. He called this experiment ‘Team for the Futurej,’ and his side went on to win the 2008 U21 European Championships after beating England in the final.
Despite never having played football at a top-level, Rangnick has earned praise for his excellent tactical knowledge of the game. He studied sports science while still playing professional football, which might have given him an advantage over other managers who were not as educated.
Ralf Rangnick is a big fan of the 4–2–3–1 formation, which he prefers using over other formations. His main aim is to dominate possession and create chances for his team through quick passes around the pitch, making it difficult for the opposition to make counterattacks or defend against them efficiently.
Ralf Ball is the term used by New York Red Bulls to describe Ralf Rangnick’s football philosophy. It consists of quick passing and players’ high speed off the ball to create space for teammates, which means that within a system, all players are expected to contribute in attack & defense.
The formations he has employed during his managerial career have been:
4–2–3–1 4–5–1 5–4–1 3–4–3 3(5)-2(4)-1 He has also used situational formations such as a 4–6–0 during the Ruckrunde of their unbeaten season with Hoffenheim in 2008/2009.
He also likes to use the False 9. He is widely known for his tactical flexibility, which allows him to adjust his position to stop opponents’ attacks or dominate them on the pitch.
Five things you didn’t know about Ralf Rangnick: 1) His favorite cheese is “Väterchen” (literally translated Fatherj’s little girl) 2) He has a dog called Uschi (named after the famous singer from the band “Ssöhne Mannheims”) 3) While managing Schalke 04, he was offered a role as coach of the Dutch national side but turned it down saying that he would like to take up such a job when he’s 60 years old 4) In January 2014, he left RB Leipzig for health reasons — specifically, a chronic lung disease 5) He is a big fan of Goethe’s works
Ralf Rangnick has been with Red Bull since the beginning. The owner of the company Dietrich Mateschitz met him in 1991 while selling him an apartment in Salzburg. Ralf Rangnick’s wife is the daughter of Dietrich Mateschitz’s good friend. Therefore, it was almost a certainty that when Red Bull established a football club in Austria in 2005, they would be interested in employing the services of Ralf Ball for their new project.
Ralf Ball revolutionized football in Austria and Germany through his intense training methods and his tactical approach towards the game. He is considered to be a master tactician who enjoys pushing players outside their comfort zone to make them become better; he also likes to take risks which sometimes result in spectacular results. Several clubs in Europe were interested in his services, including Bayern Munich and Real Madrid. Ralf Rangnick rejected these offers because he felt that RB Leipzig gave him the ability to be his own master without having to deal with all the bureaucracy involved at such big clubs.
Mateusz Werner, who played under Ralf Rangnick’s managerial career, has said the following about him: “Ralf Rangnick, as a person and as a coach, is ambitious and consistent. He won’t allow players to rest on their laurels. And he won’t settle for anything but 100 per cent effort every single day.”
He has also been described by the German newspaper Die Zeit as “The tactical innovator of the century.”
A few months before the start of season 2014/2015, Ralf Ball resigned from RB Leipzig. He cited incompatibility with the club’s ambitions as the reason for his resignation. Many fans & people in football were saddened by his departure as he had created a very special place at RB Leipzig.
